Although a medical residency is different from medical school in many ways, knowing what to expect could eliminate some anxiety.
You have a lot to celebrate once you graduate from medical school. You are now officially a doctor! You may currently be a doctor, but further training is still pending in the form of a medical residency. In this article, you will learn more about medical residency basics that can help you successfully progress on your journey.
During your final year of medical school, you will begin the matching process to obtain your residency. Once you have done your research, learned the basics of a medical residency, and decided where you are ready to do yours, then you can apply for this program. After reviewing applications, most programs tend to invite interested applicants for an interview. It is this time that you will likely be interviewed by a panel of attending physicians and senior residents.
Your interview can help you learn everything you need to know about the program. Remember that the hospital interview process is not just about deciding if you are the right candidate. It is also up to you to determine if the residency program is right for you. Don’t forget to ask about program accreditation, benefits for faculty and residents, for example, health insurance.
Once you have interviewed in different programs, the next step is to submit a ranked list of your options to the National Resident Matching Program. Additionally, residency programs offer a list of their applicants based on the order of acceptance. This information is fed into a computer program, which uses an algorithm to match students to residences.
Usually, the ranking list you submit is kept confidential. Therefore, a residency program will not know how you ranked. There is also no limit to the number of programs you can rank. You can change the ranking or include new programs in the ranking list even after submitting it, as long as you do so before your ranking list deadline. You can find the deadline for submitting your ranked list on the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) online.
A small group of medical students usually fail to match this residency program each year. One of the reasons for the mismatch could be applying to only multiple residency programs. The other reason medical students don’t match is when they apply to highly competitive residency programs, but their performance in medical school was not in line with that of typical applicants.
If you don’t match, you have several options. They may not have enough applicants to fill their residency spots. Typically, programs consisting of open residency positions are picked up from the dean of your medical school. Additionally, you can apply for a one-year research fellowship or take a gap year and then try again next year.
What is a Resident Physician?
A medical resident is a medical school graduate licensed to practice and trained under the Graduate Medical Education (GME) program. They are commonly referred to as “residents”. For people who are in their first year of residency, they are called “interns”.
In addition to working as doctors, they also receive training for a specific medical specialization for around 3 to 7 years depending on the area of interest. They can provide direct patient care and treat various health conditions. A consultant or a senior always supervises them.
Is a resident a real doctor?
Absolutely! They have a medical degree and a license to operate in the hospital. They simply train on the specific type to specialize in and supervised by a senior doctor. You can count on these residents as they stood out among the many medical students who applied. And since the residency matching is very competitive, they usually have the skills and knowledge to be a real doctor.
